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76. Rejecting Hustle Culture And Its Racist Roots

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Summary

Can we grow businesses we love without the hustle and burnout so often associated with success? That’s the question many of us have as Covid-19 has saddled us with increasing tasks and decreasing levels of support.

On this episode, Erica and India are joined by business growth strategist and member of the Pause on the Play community, Racheal Cook. 

As the leader of the CEO Collective and host of the podcast, Promote Yourself to CEO, Racheal helps women entrepreneurs escape entrepreneurial poverty where they have no time, no energy, and not enough money to do the work they love and have a life that matches.

They discuss:

  • What productivity is and isn’t,

  • The connection between taking time off and your business’ growth,

  • The racist roots of hustle culture, and

  • Recognizing early signs of burnout.

Quoted

RACHEAL COOK

“Burnout is one of the biggest reasons people close the doors of their businesses.”

“If we look backwards, a lot of what we know about business management is about exploiting those who can’t stand up for themselves.”

“Our productivity is off the charts compared to ten years ago, but it’s come at the expense of people feeling like they have to always be on.”

“Most organizations won’t change culturally unless there’s a change at the top.”

“How can we shift from systems of needing to control everything to watch everything to giving people full autonomy to get the work done in a way that works for them?”

“You know you trust someone on your team when they can tell you no and you can respect it, sit with it, and move forward.”

“I know if I don’t schedule it I won’t do it.”

“When everything is important — everything is valued the same — it’s hard to discern what will move the business forward vs. what will keep you busy.”

“The most underutilized people in the workforce right now are moms who want to work and society has not made it easy for them to do great work.”

ERICA COURDAE

“A lot of companies are realizing it doesn’t have to work the way it once worked.”

“There’s definitely a romanticization of how many jobs you can work at one time, how many hours straight you can work, how long you can go without sleep because hustle equals achievement.”

“Hustle — it’s in songs, it’s on shirts. It’s glorified, and yet, there’s no glory.”

INDIA JACKSON

“Burnout goes beyond the CEO.”

“Growing up it was implied that rest, R&R, vacation were white people things.”

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Episode Notes

When you start a business you don’t start working less than for someone else. Yet, many people entering entrepreneurship simply create a new job for themselves.

Racheal says the goal is to put in the original effort, build the asset with the systems and offers and have it running smoothly. Unfortunately  this way of building impact and income isn’t how it works for many of us.

LOSING SUPPORT DUE TO COVID-19

India asks Racheal if she thinks burnout is higher right now due to Covid 19. Racheal estimates that, yes, women are now holding families and communities up due to lost support. She refers to a recent study that reported 4x as many women as men have left their jobs in the last 6 months due to the effects of Covid-19. This trend spiked when kids went back to school. 

Women are dropping out of the workforce because systems are failing to support them. 

Erica points out that in the entrepreneurial space we often label support systems as having a virtual assistant or social media manager. She asks us to reconsider this notion as someone to pick up groceries and clean the house can be as useful as a support than those inside our businesses.

RECOGNIZING BURNOUT

India points to hustle culture, where we are celebrated for getting more done in less time. She asks Racheal where this concept originated. 

Racheal references the 1619 podcast, sharing the direct correlation between the way plantations were managed using slave labor to maximize yield of crops and today’s notion of hustle. She says that people often mistakenly point to assembly lines in the industrial revolution as where this way of work came from, rather than slavery.

Simply said, hustle culture has its roots in exploiting people to grow your own wealth.

Racheal says this dynamic is still happening — exploitative labor to create as much as possible — 100 years later. Even in the information field, remnants of this management approach remain.

It’s no surprise burnout is a global epidemic. The World Health Organization says that burnout is the physical and emotional result of working all the time and is one of the leading causes of illness in the world right now. 

Racheal was quick to point out that burnout isn’t just feeling tired from a hard day. It’s the point where the chronic workplace stress has not been managed and you have not been cared for as a whole human, resulting in negative emotions and energy depletion. 

Burnout is when you feel tired and rundown all the time no matter what you do. 

India points out another signal of burnout she’s seen in friends and colleagues recently: lack of focus and mental fog. When we’re constantly bombarded with everything, with no separation between work and life, it’s hard for our brains to sort through what’s important and what isn’t.

BURNOUT AS COMPANY CULTURE

India shares that burnout doesn’t just affect one person — there’s a trickle down effect, whether you work together to avoid it or all experience it.

Racheal says that if a leader is grinding, pushing so hard they can’t evaluate how they’re approaching business, everyone will feel the effects of it. Most organizations won’t change culturally unless there’s a change at the top.

She says that this shows up in policies, particularly those affecting women and minorities. One example recently is companies who have come out saying you cannot work for us if you’re taking care of your child. On the opposite side of the spectrum, where other companies have set up classrooms on the grounds, hiring a tutor to facilitate virtual learning for children of employees

Erica asks us to consider: is your business trying to alleviate the stress of those around you or just adding to the stress. 

India also acknowledges it’s important to start the conversation about what burnout looks like rather than assuming the contributing factors are the same for everyone. For instance, saying “don’t work on the weekend” isn’t helpful for everyone. Some of us work better on the weekend. 

Amidst Covid-19, there’s a huge shift we’re seeing in business, says Racheal. So many people thought you can’t work virtually. And a lot of those organizations and businesses that were hesitant to allow working parents to work from home or have flex time are finding ways we can help people find support they need.

This begs the question: how can we shift from systems of needing to control everything — to watch everything — to giving people full autonomy to get the work done in a way that works for them?

Racheal also believes as entrepreneurs trust for your team is essential. We’re burning out because we’re over-managing our team members. She recommends hiring the right people, paying them well, and honoring them as a whole person. This will lead them to be able to self-manage.

As visionaries we tend to come up with ideas all the time and that can create chaos for a team. Racheal empowers her team to tell me no, to push back against her, because she knows in a lot of ways this is protecting her from herself.

SCHEDULING TIME OFF

India prompts Racheal to share why she believes it’s so important that CEOs schedule time off.

As a hIgh achiever — someone who is super ambitious — she says she can loves what she does so much that I can get lost in it. She’s also run herself into the ground working too hard, not prioritizing her health, sleep, family, or friends.

She says if you are operating a business for a long time, you cannot always be in sprint mode. You have to build in pockets of time for time off. This is essential for your health and your creativity.

Time off gives us the mental space and margin to come up with new creative ideas. The down time — when you’re out in the words, having a conversation with a friend — is when the magic happens.

India brings up the fact that it’s even harder for people of color to take time off. Reactions tend to be, “Are you sick, sick? Like so sick you can’t work?”

She says that growing up it was implied that rest and vacation were white people things. If you couldn’t push through and hustle harder, you were weak.

SYSTEMS THAT SUPPORT

The show ended with Racheal sharing that we need to change the way our businesses are structured so that we can make money through our systems rather than simply working more. This will untie us from thinking we have to work a certain number of hours to get a certain result. 

She references her CEO Scorecard, which assigns tasks in your business a dollar amount based on how valuable they are to your business.

These are split into $10 admin tasks, $100 skilled tasks, $1,000 strategic tasks, and $10,000 high growth tasks.

Most of her time is spent in the $1,000 to $10,000 buckets. And while this isn’t necessarily what she gets paid, it’s how she operates. It prioritizes her time and energy on growth and client acquisition and helps her identify where she needs to hire for her team.

Her parting advice was to get specific with when you’ll take time off and how you’re spending time in your business. You can’t do all the things and stay in it for the long haul. Check out her CEO Planner for more information about the Scorecard.

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